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Circadian rhythm in mammals is regulated by complex interactions between many proteins. In mice, it is well known that hair follicle cycles advance synchronously in early adulthood.
By following the level of Per1, a protein that regulates the circadian cycle, these investigators realized that within mouse skin, different populations of dormant follicular stem cells exist at different states (analogous to 12 midnight and 12 noon on a molecular clock). As the hair cycle progressed through anagen, bulge cells became “synchronized,” and all expressed high levels of Per1. When they probed the differences between the two initially divergent cell populations, the authors found an association between expression of genes associated with stem cell fun…